


Paraparenting

by tod_von_mii



Series: Raison d'être [6]
Category: Elisabeth - Levay/Kunze
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Kid Fic, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:07:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25042135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tod_von_mii/pseuds/tod_von_mii
Summary: Little Sophie was taken from Elisabeth, but nobody could hide her away from Death - which is a lot less frightening than it sounds.
Relationships: Der Tod | Death (Elisabeth) & Archduchess Sophie of Austria
Series: Raison d'être [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1813564
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	Paraparenting

When Sophie the elder forcibly took the apparent daughter of Sisi and Franz Joseph and named her after herself, der Tod was severely tempted to kiss away the Kaiser's life prematurely to see how his mother liked having a child stolen from her. Thankfully, his iron-clad self-control prevailed, and he thought of a better way to intervene - making sure little Sophie got some actual parental affection in her life.

* * *

Little Sophie was big and strong for her age, and her capacity for yowling was especially robust. When she was unhappy, since she couldn't use language, she had no way of communicating it besides crying. Thankfully, she didn't need that to appreciate music.

"Schlafe, mein Prinzesschen, schlaf ein/Schäfchen ruh'n und Vögelein/Garten und Wiese verstummt/auch nicht ein Bienchen mehr stummt..."

Der Tod's soft tenor voice, combined with his natural narcotic quality (the ancient Greeks had been right to make Thanatos the brother of Hypnos), helped little Sophie fall asleep faster than she did around anyone else.

* * *

If little Sophie was merely fussy, especially during the daytime, der Tod liked to entertain her and watch everyone else wonder why her mood changed so quickly.

"Hier hast 'nen Taler, geh auf den Markt, kauf dir 'ne Kuh, 'n Kälbchen dazu, Kälbchen hat 'n Schwänzchen - didldidldänzchen."

All of her supposed grandmother's flunkies assumed that someone else had brought the wooden cow with the little tail.

* * *

Sometimes der Tod could carve out enough private time to play with little Sophie in a way that would make it obvious that someone invisible was there.

"Hoppe hoppe Reiter, wenn er fällt, dann schreit er/Fällt er in den Graben, fressen ihn die Raben/Fällt er in den Sumpf, macht der Reiter **_PLUMPS_**!"

That one was especially appropriate, considering how Sisi enjoyed horsebackriding, as well as the fact that they had met when she literally fell into his arms.

Maybe little Sophie would also enjoy riding when she was old enough? And perhaps she'd like to ride a pale horse?

* * *

A year and four months after little Sophie was born, Sisi had another daughter.

Gisela wasn't as comfortable around der Tod, which he supposed made sense - Franz Joseph was actually her father. Some people were more frightened by him than others, but seeing little Sophie's reaction side-by-side with her half-sister's was amusing. Both of them were called little angels, but while the infant demigoddess resembled the popular image of a cherub in his presence, the baby human would've twirled around a fiery sword in their defence if she could.

He eventually decided to hide himself from Gisela's conscious awareness - if he made her that stressed, the kindest thing he could do for her was leave her in peace. That didn't stop her from staring at little Sophie when she seemed to smile at nothing.

* * *

Desperate to spend time with her children (writing only offered so much solace), Sisi had taken them with her while the imperial couple traveled to Hungary, but tragedy struck like a bolt of lightning. Both Gisela and little Sophie got sick, but some twist of fate ensured that the stronger sibling got sicker, and the telltale feeling became too obvious to deny - her time had come.

Der Tod imagined little Sophie had never seen him so glum, but when she saw him approach, the distress faded from her face, leaving behind a peaceful expression.

"Hush now. I'll take you home."


End file.
